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SongsGod Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
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3 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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Traditional English carol, the “London” tune, in print by the early 19th century. Public domain.

16 strings · G3–A5 · C major · The common size, and what most lyre tabs assume. Two full octaves and a bit.

Tap a string, or sweep across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they follow the strings left to right.

LyreFree · printable · plays in your browser

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — Lyre Tabs

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, written out for the lyre as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 16-string. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the lyre waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes67, 9 pitches
  • RangeG4–A5
  • Key hereA minor
  • Tempo138 bpm · about 33 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a lyre play God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen?

1 of the 3 here do. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • 7-string✕ Cannot play itNeeds G3, A3, B3, which it does not have
  • 10-string✕ Cannot play itNeeds G3, which it does not have
  • 16-string✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, G4–A5 · loaded above

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen: lyre tabs

The large line is the note’s number in the scale; the small line under it is the string to pluck. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — lyre tabs (16-string) · tonalics.com

The 9 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 9 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 5str. 8×2
  • 6str. 9×12
  • 7str. 10×8
  • 1•str. 11×11
  • 2•str. 12×12
  • 3•str. 13×14
  • 4•str. 14×4
  • 5•str. 15×2
  • 6•str. 16×2

What to expect on a lyre

  • It runs from G4 to A5, an octave and a whole step, using 9 different notes. Its top note is the highest this instrument has.
  • 86% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, A4 to E5, at note 3.
  • It is played on strings 8 to 16 of 16, 9 strings in all.

About the tune

One of the oldest English carols still sung, known from 18th-century broadsides and probably older. The tune used today is the one associated with London; Dickens has a caroller start it at Scrooge’s keyhole in A Christmas Carol.

Traditional English carol, the “London” tune, in print by the early 19th century. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen →

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, handpan or ocarina, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the lyre

All 34 lyre songs · Christmas songs for lyre · The online lyre on its own

Playing it on a real lyre?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The lyre tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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